The photo shoot had been going well. Nakikisama naman ang panahon and the staff was great. Sa katanuyan nasa ika-pitong araw na nila. This was their last day.
This time, they left the capital of Asphodel and went to a distant province called Zephyr. Sabi nila, ito raw ang pinakamalamig na parte sa Asphodel as it was located at the top-most region. Halos malapit na ito sa north pole.
"Break muna!" sigaw ng photographer.
She sat down on the nearest settee.
Everything was perfect for her, even Gareth. Ever since the talk that they had several days ago, he became nice her. He remained true to his word. It was as if he had already completely forgotten of the past.
"You okay?" tanong ni Gareth sa kanya.
"Quite good," she said.
Nag-abot ito sa kanya ng isang mug na hot chocolate. She really appreciated such little gestures from him. Somehow, she found it very sweet of him.
But there a lot of things that he did in the past seven days. Palagi itong sumasama sa mga photo shoots niya. He always said that as the Viceroy, he should oversee anything. And also, ginagamit din nitong dahilan ang pagiging doktor nito, he said that he always needs to be by her side to check her health.
Hindi niya mapigilang mapangiti sa ipinapakita nito.
"Why are you smiling like that?" tanong nito.
Agad na gumapang ang maliliit na boltahe ng kuryente sa kanyang katawan. His mere presence brought strange but beautiful sensations in her body.
"Don't you like my smiles?"
"I love your smiles, sweetheart. It's the sweetest for me. Nahihiwagaan lang ako sa ngiti mo ngayon. What are you thinking?" he said.
"Kapag sinabi ko bang ikaw ang iniisip ko, anong gagawin mo?" she teasingly said to him.
"Quit it, sweetheart. Or else..."
She looked at him. From she stood, her towering height was extremely overwhelming.
He crouched down until they were eye-level.
"Or else, what?" she asked.
Npakaliit lamang ng pagitan nilang dalawa. She could literally inhale his minty breath.
A naughty grin was now pasted on his lips.
"Or else... I'll kiss you in front of them."
She could see in his eyes that he was not kidding at all. He was pretty much serious. Napalunok siya. His teasing made the back of her hair stood. A tingling sensation ran to her every fiber.
"Then, I'll just keep thinking of you then."
She then unintentionally smiled at him.
"Fuck!" he whispered.
It was that she could hear before he conquered her lips.
His kiss was tender but still full of passion. It overwhelmed her. Pulses of sweet sensations were now flowing inside every fiber of her body. It was hot and sweet at the same time. He nibbled her lips before finally letting go.
"Don't you dare me again, sweetheart. You know for sure that I am dead serious."
Her heart was furious beating against her chest. Doon lang niya narealize na naroroon nga pala sila sa set. All of the crew were looking away from them but, the awkwardness was still very evident.
She blushed to the roots of her hair. Nakakahiya. Pinalo niya ito sa braso.
"Hey! What was that for?" hindi pa rin mawala ang pilyong ngiti sa labi nito.
"Ewan ko sa iyo," she marched towards her set. Nagkukunwari lang siyang naiiinis sa ginawa nito, but deep inside, she actually liked it. Kinikilig siya sa ginawa nito.
Gareth was just watching everything from sidelines. He always thought that the showbizness was one of the jobs with easy money. Pero nagkakamali siya, seeing Steff repeatedly smile and pose in front of the camera for several hours made him think otherwise.
Ever since the talk that they had on his clinic, Gareth had been feeling genuinely happy. Ganoon ang pakiramdam niya nitong mga nakaraang araw. He felt light and invigorated. It actually reminded him of the life that he had five years ago. Back when everything was still very simple. And back when he was not entangled in this mess.
They were about to go through the final frames when the Creative Director caught his attention.
"Miss Steffanie, it's time to take your top off," sigaw nito.
Nagulat siya sa sinabi ng lalaki. Say what again?
She then saw Steffanie remove her robes. Nanlaki ang mata sa kanyang nakita. She was really topless. Not even a fucking bra! Tanging ang mahabang ginintuang buhok nito ang tumatakip sa mayamang dibdib ng babae.
Agad siyang lumingon sa paligid. All of the male species was ogling at her. He immediately saw blood.
Lumpait siya sa creative director. "Just what did you say?"
The danger in his voice made the director stepped backwards.
"You're highness, she needed to have a topless photograph for the last frames," the director hesitatingly said.
Nagtagis ang bagang niya sa narinig.
"Repeat that and you're dead." He dangerously said.
Agad namang lumuhod ito sa harap niya.
"Patawarin po ako, kamahalan. Patawarin niyo po ako."
"What's happening here?" pumagitna na sa kanilang dalawa si Steff.
Again. Her look disturbed her. Just a slight breeze could expose her breasts. Tiningnan niya ng masa ang director. Damn this man!
Agad niyang hinubad ang suot na T-hirt at isinuot dito.
"All of you get out now!" he angrily said.
Hindi na nagdalawang isip ang mga ito. They immediately squirm out of the room.
Tanging sila na lamang ni Steff ang natitira sa loob ng silid.
"What was that all about?" tanong nito sa kanya.
Actually, iyon din ang tanong niya sa kanyang sarili. He didn't know what happened either. When he saw her bare body, he just snapped. He completely lost it there. He suddenly found the urge to gouge out the eyes of all of those looking at her.
"Gareth? she asked once more.
Napapikit siya. He remained quite. He knew what he was feeling right now. He was just too stubborn to admit it.
"Are you jealous?" she said.
Fuck! She hit the right spot. He glared at her.
Instead of being intimidated, she just laughed.
"You are jealous!"
That was it. The jig was out and she knew it. He was jealous of those people. He didn't want them to see her body. Her body was only for him and him alone.
The laughter in her voice was so irresistible it made him want to concede.
"Okay! Fine. You win. I am jealous." He said infuriatingly.
He was already thinking of murder by just the mere thought of having someone touch her body, much less see it. Call him selfish or anything but her curves and edges was for his eyes only.
She smiled at him.
"You're enjoying my misery, sweetheart?"
Inangkla nito ang mga kamay nito sa kanyang batok.
"Of course not. I just like that thought. You being jealous because me. It makes me feel important and beautiful."
He caressed her face with her knuckles.
"But you are beautiful, sweetheart. You truly are."
Gareth's heart felt like bursting with happiness. After so many years of pain and heartache, he suddenly felt complete and satisfied.
He kissed her in the forehead.
"Thank you, Gareth." Steffanie said.
The photo shoot still went through as planned. Though, there were some minor adjustments made to accommodate Gareth's not so humble requests. Nagpumilit pa rin kasi itong tanggalin ang parte kung saan kailangan niyang mag-pose ng topless.
She knew that the creative team was disappointed because of that. Pero ano pa nga ba ang magagawa ng mga ito? It was the Viceroy and the Prince who already decided.
She actually got the artistic point of view of that theme. It was suppose to showcase the beauty and innocence of the first day of snow.
But Gareth didn't seem to understand it. Dapat ay magalit siya dahil pinakikialaman nito ang kanyang trabaho. But somehow, instead of being mad, parang kinikiliti ang puso niya.
So there they were, lying on his bed, fully clothed, and just chatting. Yup, they were just talking and nothing more.
Nakakapanibago ito para sa kanya, because every time they were in a room together, all they ever do was to satisfy their intense desire for each other. But believe it or not, during the past seven days, Gareth didn't made love to her. It was not that he had gone tired of her. She could always see the pool of intense flaming desire in his eyes every time they were together.
All they did was eat, engage into some petty talks and do some silly things together.
And by some means, she still found these things to be very intimate.
It was as if they were catching up for the lost times.
Gareth was fully sitting on the bed, his back perfectly settled on the dashboard. Samantalang siya ay nakahiga naman sa kandungan nito.
"I heard of how saved a lot of lives during the epidemic in Avalon?" she randomly said.
She saw him smile proudly.
"That was a team effort. We just did our jobs as doctors. Nothing to be fancy about."
"Hmmm..." she gave a verbal nod.
"Is it fun? Being a gifted doctor? Was it satisfying?"
Hinaplos nito ang kanyang ulo, his fingers running through the large curls of her blonde her. It felt quite to her.
"You can say that. But the thing is, it's actually the lives that you are saving. It's what makes our work gratifying."
She cannot help herself but to be proud of his achievements as well. He was excellent at what he did and she could saw his passion in his chosen craft. During the past days that they were together, Gareth was not only a great host, he was her doctor as well. He kept checking her from time to time. And in that short amount of time, masaya siya dahil nakita niya ang ganitong bahagi ng buhay nito.
"What about you? How's living the life of a supermodel?" tanong nito.
She was surprised that he actually asked of her that.
"Well... It's fabulous. It's grand. But still, for me, it's not permanent. The limelight was such a delicate spot. There will be always someone younger, someone better and someone more beautiful. So, I am just making the best out of it."
He saw him nod in acknowledgement.
"But, sweetheart. How did you end up as a model?" he curiously said.
"Once upon a time, I was working non-stop for myself and for my kid. Ang hirap pala pag may binubuhay ka na. So I grabbed every possible opportunity. As long as legal, game ako. All for the sake of bring food in the table."
Namayani ang panandaliang katahimikan sa pagitan nilang dalawa.
"Tell me more about your daughter." He seriously said.
She was surprised at this sudden twist of topic. Hindi niya inasahan iyon. She actually wanted to talk about Kylie with him. Pero natakot siya. They just recently made up. Baka ang muling pagpapaalala ng nakaraan ang magdulot nang muling pagbubukas ng mga naghilom na sugat. But since it was him who brought it, she felt happy. Mukhang ito na talaga ang tamang panahon panahon para ipakilala rito ang anak nilang dalawa. But will just take one step at a time.
"Her name is Kylie and she's cunning and smart. Minsan nga nagtataka ako, she acts mature for her age."
"I bet she's beautiful as well." He said with so much affection in his eyes.
"She had my curls and my blonde hair."
A smile suddenly broke down on his lips.
"I'd like to meet her some time."
Tumahip ang dibdib niya sa excitement. She wanted to cry of happiness. Finally, unti-unti nang nabubuo ang kanilang pamilya.
"Sure. I bet she'd be happy to play in the snow here."
Tumango-tango rin ito. Another dead silence broke the place.
"What time is it?" biglang tanong nito.
She looked at her wristwatch, "Nearly eleven, bakit?"
"Do you want to go out? I heard that they have a festival here tonight. Want to go?"
Hindi na ito nagdalawang salita pa. Agad siyang pumayag.
Both Steffanie and Gareth were walking in the snowy fields of Zephyr. Tama nga ito, may dinadaos na festival sa lugar na iyon.
There were about a hundred booths in the open the open field. The whole place was dazzling with neon lights.
They were completely covered from head to toe with thick parkas, fur boots and bonnets. One, because this served as a disguise. And two, to really served its purpose. Napakalamig kasi talaga sa labas.
"So how's Ash?" tanong nito. Doon na nila pinagpatuloy ang kwentuhan nila.
"Ayun, patabain pa rin sa bahay. She's now Kylie's best friend."
They stopped by to one of the booths there. Nagbebenta ito ng iba't ibang mga fried sea foods. There were fillet, fish chips, fish flakes, calamari, crab claw. Bigla tuloy siyang naglaway.
Gareth both two orders of their sample platter.
Naupo sila sa isang maliit na mesa inside a crowded tent. Maingay ang mga taong nasa loob. All were in the mood for the festivity.
They ordered two bottles of beer as well.
"This is what I loved Asphodel, their ice-cold beer is great," he said as he drank a one big gulp.
She was an occasional drinker but she couldn't help but to try. Uminom din siya ng beer. The bitter taste coupled with an incredible spunk flooded in her mouth. The temperature was just perfect.
"It's great!" she said.
"Then let's propose a cheers for us sweetheart."
She nodded in agreement.
"Cheers to the future!" he shouted as he raised his bottle.
"Cheer!" she raised hers as well saka sabay nilang tinungga ang bote.
Hindi mapigilan ni Gareth ang sarili na pasimple itong nakawan ng tingin. Steffanie looked surreal. Their time together was one of the greatest in his life.
They were now walking aimlessly at the crowd together.
"Where to, now?" tanong nito.
"Hindi ko rin alam, sweetheart. Let's just wander around and see where our foot will lead us."
Isang ngiti namang ang iginanti nito sa kanya.
They were walking closely together. Their proximity was doing nothing but to short circuit his system. Every time that they were together. His libido just skyrocketed. In fact, he was hard as rock right now. But for the past few days, he was able to hold back. He didn't made a passed on her or even try to hint he wanted to make love to her.
Mas importatnte ang nagaganap ngayon sa kanilang dalawa. They were trying to patch things up, to completely seal off and forget their unpleasant past.
They just talked about random topics and do things together. Tulad na lang ngayon. And he had never been happier.
A sudden sound of a light explosion suddenly halted them in their aimless walking. They saw the heavens light up with different colorful fireworks.
Tiningnan niya ito. The woman beside there was just in awe of its beauty. Alam niyang malinaw nitong nakikita ang mga fireworks, it's too bright for her retina not to recognize.
"It's beautiful," she said as watched the dancing lights in the evening sky.
"You are certainly right, sweetheart. It's beautiful." He said. But he was not looking at the fireworks. He was looking at her.
Agad naman itong lumingon sa kanya. Their eyes met and as if drawn to the magic of the moment, they shared their sweetest kiss.
It was not passionate. Just a simple kiss, but still, somehow it meant everything for him.